U.S. President John F. Kennedy's speech regarding racism and racial tensions in Alabama, delivered from Washington DC, the White House. United States President Kennedy seated at a desk and speaks over a microphone. The President speaks about racial discrimination against blacks in the United States. He talks about the University of Alabama not giving admission to two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negroes, due to segregation and discrimination practices. View of people crowded outside the University of Alabama. Men take pictures as officials escort entering students Vivian Malone and James Hood into the University. The President says that the nation is founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. President Kennedy says that it is right for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal. Additional views of Vivian Malone and James Hood walking with crowds and also unaccompanied on the University of Alabama campus. A policeman rides a motorcycle on a road at the University. President Kennedy talks about respecting negro citizens and importance of civil rights and equality. The President says that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore the rights of any of its citizens. Press record his speech and take pictures.

Bombing demonstration by U.S. Army Air Service DH4 aircraft under command of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. The target is Battleship USS Alabama, in September, 1921 in the Chesapeake Bay, United States. Army flier is seen checking security of a bomb under wing of aircraft. USS Alabama underway in the Chesapeake Bay. Aerial views from United States Army Air Service planes in flight over the battleship. USS Alabama is hit by a bomb. Later it is hit by a phosphorus poison gas bomb. Finally it is hit by 2000 pound bombs. The USS Alabama rolls over halfway, in shallow waters.

U.S. President John F. Kennedy's speech on Alabama in Washington DC. The White House. United States President John Kennedy seated at a desk and speaks over a microphone. The President speaks about the discrimination of blacks by whites in the United States. He talks about the University of Alabama not giving admission to two clearly qualified young Alabama residents (James Hood and Vivian Malone) who happened to have been born Negroes. President Kennedy says that the nation is founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. The President says that it is possible for the American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal. President Kennedy talks about respecting Negroes and all Americans and urges people not to discriminate and to uphold civil rights. He says that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them.

Representatives of three nations, seated around table at Potsdam Conference held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany. British prime minister, Clement Attlee; President of United States, Harry Truman; and representative of Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, July 1945. They deliver an ultimatum of unconditional surrender to Japan. Swarms of B-29 bombers and Aircraft Carrier Task Forces destroy Japanese homeland. Planes on carrier decks.Navy Grumman carrier-based TBF aircraft dropping bombs.. Destruction of ships at sea. Mushroom cloud due to atomic bombing. Chart depicts the power of one atomic bomb. Britain's 'grand slam' bomb, most destructive conventional bomb ever produced. Doctor Ernest Orlando Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron (atom smashing machine). A man works at the Cyclotron at the University of California, Berkeley. General Leslie Groves, head of the project speaks. He is seated with Dr Vannevar Bush, government director of science and research, and Dr Richard Tolman, technical expert. Quantities of uranium shipped from Alberta, Canada are used in bombs. The atomic bomb process (Manhattan Project) is developed in widely separated areas; scenes from Hanford Project plant in Richmond, Washington. Project personnel exit cars and enter into the search area. Lieutenant colonel Franklin T Matthias with the army corps of engineers, appointed to the Hanford Project. Sign of 'Oak Ridge' in Tennessee. Largest of the three atomic bomb plants located near the TVA dam. Employed personnel in atomic bomb plants. Man and woman employees at the plan read a Knoxville Journal newspaper in August 1945 with headline "Power of Oak Ridge Atomic Bomb hits Japs". View of dense prefabricated home communities to house large number of Oak Ridge plant workers. View of families setting up their houses in trailer towns after the prefabricated homes were full. People come out from the Henebry's Jewelers and super market. Joseph Stalin at conference. Russian artillery and troops in a parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia (these parade scenes are from the May 1, 1945 May Day parade, just days before Germany's surrender). President Harry Truman reports on the latest developments regarding the war with Japan. He states that the United States is prepared to destroy every productive enterprise in Japan and the U.S. shall completely destroy its power to make war. He warns of an attack by the U.S. due to the rejection of the July 26th ultimatum at Potsdam. He warns that Japan "should expect a rain of ruin from the air; the like of which has never been seen on this earth." Truman notes that it will be followed by an unprecedented sea and land invasion of Japan.

Tornadoes kill 47 and injure many causing $1,000,000 property damage in Alabama and Mississippi, United States. Damaged houses and rubble and debris in cities. People and military troops at relief work. Box cars damaged by the tornadoes. Relief workers and Red Cross servicemen rescue people from the debris.

Dixiecrat democrats of the States' Rights Democratic Party at convention in Birmingham Alabama (after rejecting civil rights in platform of the 1948 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Pennsylvania). People in favor of continued racial segregation enter the building of 'State Rights Democrat' along with flag of United States to revolt against the civil rights plank of the Truman-Barkley ticket. William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray, a vocal proponent of racial segregation, is seen and flags behind him include a confederate flag. Dixie Democrats (The States' Rights Democratic Party) hold their own convention. Banners of states of Alabama and Mississippi in convention hall, with representatives who abandoned the democratic convention at Philadelphia. Fielding Lewis Wright, Democratic politician, and Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, stands among Democrats. Governor James Strom Thurmond of South Carolina speaks and denounces efforts by the federal government and says that the country is on the path of being a totalitarian state. Strom Thurmond gets the State's Rights Party nomination for President of the United States.